U.S.S. Enterprise-F
The U.S.S. Enterprise-F is a Federation-Class starship and the flagship of Starfleet. History 2397-2403: Design Construction With the commencement of the Federation-class design projects in 2397, a conscious decision was made by the admiralty that this new ship should signal a clear return to Starfleet's scientific roots rather than the militarised bent it has taken in the past couple of decades. The Dominion War had seen mass production of designs such as the Akira-Class heavy escort and the Sovereign-Class assault cruiser, replacing older vessels which had been adequate for star-mapping and border patrols but quickly proven useless in front-line massed combat. The ultimate expression of this thinking, the Broadsword-class, was made the flagship of the fleet in 2393. The goals of the Federation-class were to develop of a new explorer vessel with a generalist role - like the Galaxy-Class before it, a vessel designed for a small number of examples to serve on long-term operations away from base. Pressure from several quarters, including the Vulcan delegation of the Federation Council, saw an increased focus on size and status for the vessel - rather than simply being a fringe part of the fleet, they wanted to use the new class as an opportunity to realign Starfleet to peaceful exploration duties above all else. The name of the class was a political move to emphasise exploration & scientific endeavour as the heart of the United Federation of Planets' ideals, and namign the second vessel Enterprise served the same purpose. Even construction was done at the 40 Eridani A fleetyards rather than one of the several fleetyards at Earth The keel of the Enterprise-F was laid in 2400 during the final stages of construction of the pathfinder vessel, U.S.S. Federation. Following the launch of the Federation, issues with phaser coil over-heating were identified allowing the fault to be corrected on the Enterprise before it suffered the internal damage the Federation had. Warp nacelle alignment was also adjusted based on the Federation's shakedown cruise, which revealed the subspace geometry of the vessel did not behave as simulations prepared by the design staff had predicted at speeds above Warp 7: this work was more serious and delayed launching of the vessel by some months. The official naming ceremony was held on Stardate 81000.0 with Ambassador Picard, former captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D, christening the vessel. 2404: Launch & First year Of Service The vessel was launched in early 2404 and command was given to Captain Satlek, a highly experienced Vulcan officer. In it's first year of duty it was assigned principally to explore the spinward fringes of the Alpha Quadrant beyond the Bajoran sector, a role which saw it make first contact with several species. It also took part in Task Force Emerald, a collection of ships deployed to the Gorn Confederacy border following intelligence about illegal weapons testing. At the end of 2404 the ''Enterprise was hijacked by James Moriarty, a sentient hologram who wished to use the vessel in an act of terrorism. This hijack saw the ship's saucer & engineering sections separated but, with the aid of the U.S.S. Damocles, the vessel was recovered and sent to Earth Station McKinley for repairs. 2405: Iconians & Borg After repairs the ship was relaunched, with Chief Engineer Claire Kilsyth replaced with James Gray. The vessel continued its exploration mission, including encountering the old Earth sleeper ship SS Long Chance; formal negotiations with the insectoid Z'Zor; response to a buildup in Klingon/Romulan tensions; and offering medical assistance to the Gorn Confederacy homeworld. By mid-2405, Morale problems developed on the Enterprise in this time with the stress of galactic exploration prompting several crewmembers to start taking recreational drugs: this was uncovered by new Security Chief Jaheem Soto and further investigated by JAG Officer L'Leth. The second half of 2405 also saw the Enterprise encounter the Borg twice - first rogue drones trying to set up their own civilizations, then a full-on infestation of the ship which saw 75 crew members either assimilated or killed in defense of the ship. This included Warrant Officer Barry Reeves. Appearance The Federation-class''is the largest vessel ever built by Starfleet, with a keel 842m long and seventy nine decks: making it about two hundred metres longer and twenty-five decks taller than Picard’s ''Galaxy-Class Enterprise. As with most vessels of Starfleet design it is based around a saucer-shaped primary hull and a detachable secondary hull which houses the ship's primary engines on nacelles. The saucer is an oval facing forward but there is no appearance of sleekness or aerodynamic quality to the vessel – in fact, compared to many other Starfleet vessels, the saucers is fat and rounded leading it to be called “the whale in space”. Capabilities Federation-class craft are designed to operate for years at a time away from Starfleet bases and thusly are highly independent craft featuring cutting-edge technology, including some lessons from the substantially more sleek Broadsword-class vessels which were up until recently the largest vessels in the fleet. The Warp Drive has a sustainable speed of Warp 9 with special warp geometry considerations minimising damage to subspace & the ship caused by high speeds. The crew of approximately 1800 live in comparative comfort in what amounts to a flying city, equipped with excellent scientific facilities so they can do their day jobs and equally impressive recreational facilities to allow them to relax when off-duty. Furthermore, the vessel is capable of defending itself in a battle: Protected by an FSS-3 shield system, twelve phaser arrays and an arsenal of photon & quantum torpedoes, its scientific designation belies its capability to serve as a flying fortress. The most distinctive feature of the vessel is that the saucer section possesses its own emergency warp drive. Hidden behind detachable panels and only available when the saucer and engineering hull are separated, the Federation-class saucer section has a sustainable speed of Warp 6 and a theoretical maximum speed of Warp 8, meaning that even with the destruction or loss of the main warp core the crew can make a slow return back into Federation space. Unfortunately, the poor warp geometry means that exceeding the sustainable speed puts the vessel in marked danger of shaking itself apart Current Senior Staff As Of 2406 Senior Officers * Captain: Captain Satlek (Vulcan) * First Officer: Commander Saph Betal (Trill) * Executive Officer: XXX * Chief of Security: Lieutenant Commander Jaheem Soto (Human) * Chief Engineer: Lieutenant Commander Arvind Gustafsson (Human) * Chief Medical Officer: Dr Jun-seo Moon (Human) * Chief Science Officer: XXX Warrant Officers & Specialists * Ship's Holo-Avatar: Mr Einstein / Steve * Ship's Counsellor: Commander Tarquin Coutts PhD (Human) * Head of Stellar Cartography: XXX * Ship's Dentist: Lieutenant Commander T'Shon (Vulcan) * Senior Nursing Officer: Master Chief Petty Officer Cerys Jones (Human) * Ship's Botanist: Lieutenant Sakonna (Vulcan) * Head of Communications & Anthropology: Lieutenant Kestra T'Lara (Vulcan/Betazoid) * Ship's Archaeologist: Lieutenant Georgia Smith (Human) * Diplomatic Corp Attaché: Mr Robert Carson (Human) * Flight Controller: Ensign Fabio Boccelli (Human) * Transporter Chief: Chief Petty Officer Molly O'Brien (Human) * Cetacean Specialist: Ensign Ewelina Kwasznik (Human) * Primary School Teacher: Warrant Officer Solan Priss (Bajoran) Former Senior Staff Of Note * Chief Of Security 2404: Lieutenant Veroz Belor (Bajoran) * Chief of Security 2404 -2405: Lieutenant William Anderson (Human) * Chief Engineer 2404: Lieutenant Commander Claire Kilsyth (Human) * Chief Engineer 2405: Lieutenant Commander James Gray (Human) * Chief Medical Officer 2404 - 2405: Doctor K'Ratak (Klingon Defence Force officer - on loan, Officer Exchange Program) * Chief Science Officer 2404 - 2405: Lieutenant PhD (Gorn) * Cetacean Specialist 2404-2405: Warrant Officer Bartholomew Reeves (Human) Enterprise, U.S.S. Enterprise, U.S.S.